Comfortable in public

A couple kisses on Kiev's Bridge of Lovers on Valentine's Day February 14, 2008.REUTERS/Konstantin Chernichkin (UKRAINE)

Fred Kent of the Project for Public Spaces says people show affection in places where they are comfortable. While it is true that "affectionate" people can be affectionate in a wide variety of places, comfortability matters.

A number of articles discuss how the presence of women is an indicator of comfort and safety in public spaces. See:

-- Great architecture, clean streets, culture -- it must be Minneapolis (San Francisco Chronicle)
-- Cycle City? Sacramento streets gearing up for cruisers and commuters (Sacramento Bee, registration required)
-- Splendor in the Grass (New York Times)


A woman takes a break amid the snowy tables and chairs in Bryant Park in New York in this Feb.13, 2006 file photo. The land that Bryant Park sits upon has had many lives, at one time even being used as a potter's field. And the land, as a park, has gone through many changes as well, sadly reaching a low point about two decades ago when it was taken over by drug dealers and vagrants, before a crackdown and cleanup.(AP Photo/Shiho Fukada, File)